This week, the RECETOX Research Infrastructure at Masaryk University, coordinator of the European Research Infrastructure EIRENE (European Research Infrastructure for Environmental Exposure Assessment in Europe), hosted a study visit organised within the framework of the EU–CELAC Working Group on Research Infrastructures.
The visit brought together representatives of research infrastructures from Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) to exchange knowledge and experience on the operation of large-scale research infrastructures, open-access models, research services, and opportunities for international collaboration. Participation was highly competitive, with only eight representatives from different CELAC countries selected for this prestigious training programme.
The programme focused on human exposome research, environmental health, environmental monitoring, population cohorts, biobanks, advanced analytical approaches, data services, FAIR data principles, and open science. Participants visited key RECETOX facilities and learned about both the scientific activities and operational aspects of managing a research infrastructure.
RECETOX shared more than 15 years of experience in operating a national open-access research infrastructure providing access to research capacities, laboratories, monitoring networks, cohorts, and data services. The visit also highlighted the role of EIRENE, the European infrastructure for environmental exposure assessment, which RECETOX has coordinated since 2020, and its potential for global collaboration.
The study visit created a platform for exchanging best practices, discussing future partnerships, and exploring opportunities for long-term cooperation between European and CELAC research infrastructures. Participants also discussed possibilities for collaboration in the development of human exposome research capacities and potential future involvement in the EIRENE network.
The EU–CELAC study visits, supported by the European Commission, aim to strengthen cooperation between research infrastructures in Europe and the Latin America and Caribbean region through knowledge exchange, capacity building, and the development of new collaborative opportunities.
Summer School took place at the RECETOX facilities and brought together experts, researchers, and young professionals from different countries. The programme consisted of two complementary modules addressing key topics related to the assessment and management of chemical risks.
Researchers, infrastructure managers, and policy representatives from across Europe and Ukraine gathered in Brno for the RIFF Thematic Summit on Health, Food, Environment, and Data & Computing Research Infrastructures. EIRENE and RECETOX contributed to the programme through presentations by Prof. Jana Klánová and guided tours of RECETOX laboratories and biobanking facilities.
